Honestly I cannot believe it is almost the end of another year. With only 29 days until 2018, I'm in complete and utter shock. 2018 was always a year that seemed ages away, however it continues to inch closer and closer to reality. In the year of 2018, I will turn eighteen years old, graduate from high school, and go to college. How completely insane is that???

Anyway, tangent over, it's time to get to the point of this post. I've seen a lot of people doing this "End of the Year" tag on BookTube and I thought it was a really nice way to reflect on the year thus far and launch into the end of the year.

So, without further delay, let's get on to the tag.

1. Are there any books you started this year you need to finish?The real question is are there any books I've started this year that I have finished. I have such an issue with starting a book, getting slightly bored or excited by another, and stopping midway through with the intention to return. However, often, I never actually return to the book in a timely fashion. So, yes, there have been quite a few partly-read books this year (in fact, I just had to clear out my currently-reading section on Goodreads so it wasn't as horribly shameful). My so-far unfinished books of 2017 include: Viciousby V.E. Schwab (166/368 pages) The Marvels by Brian Selznick (392/665 pages) Anna Kareninaby Leo Tolstoy (147/964 pages) Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (228/359 pages) The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker (93/486 pages)

I'm really hoping to finish at least two of these by the end of the year (especially The Golem and the Jinni and The Marvels). 2. Do you have a winter book to transition to the end of the year? I do not have one picked out yet, but I do hope to pick up one of my Christmas themed books sometime soon to set the mood for the month(: I'm thinking either Let it Snow by John Green or a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.3. Is there a new release you're still waiting for? Nope, since I'm on a book-buying ban and trying to avoid starting new series at the moment (so that I can finish off the ones I've already started) I honestly have no idea what books are coming out this month.

4. What are three books you want to read before the end of the year? 1. Stand-Off by Andrew Smith: This is the sequel to Winger, which I'm currently re-reading, that I initially read three years ago and loved. Because I loved Winger so much, I'm really hoping that Stand-Off has the same earth-shattering effect over me. 2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (illustrated version) by J.K. Rowling: I've been staring at the beautiful illustrations on the cover for ages and I would really love to get the full experience (you know, beyond just the cover). Plus, Christmas time is always perfect for a Harry Potter re-read. (:3. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman: I've been thoroughly craving something really really different. And, I think this book, which is a high sci-fi told through emails, security camera reports, etc will be more than sufficient to satisfy my craving.

5. Is there a book that you think could still shock you and become your FAVORITE???As you know from my response to the first question, I've already started The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. However, the reason I haven't finished it yet is because it started off a little slower than I would like, especially at a time in my life where I am extremely busy and can't read as often as I would like. However, I believe that if I commit myself to finishing it, it has a great chance to become one of my new favorites. The book is an adult urban-fantasy novel based in New York City around the turn of the twentieth century. In addition, it contains elements of ancient African and Middle-Eastern history. Further, it has the qualities of a magical fable. From its shared historical fiction and fantastical elements in combination with its fairy-tale like qualities and intricate writing, it has a definite shot at a place among my favorite books.

6. Have you already made reading plans for 2018? Besides continuing my book buying ban so that I can work on my massive TBR pile, I don't have any set reading plans for next year. I do hope to set a reading goal for each month so that I can dedicate myself to reading a little more than I have in 2016, but have no idea which books I will be tackling first.

Hope you enjoyed the short tag(: Let me know if you've read any of the books I mentioned & what books you're hoping to read by the end of the year!

- Paige J. xx

Hello everyone(: I hope you're having a great weekend and getting lots of reading done. Since the semester just ended and I'm having a lazy weekend I decided to do a nice little book tag for everyone(: I found this book tag on booklovingnut.com, feel free to check out their blog!

1. You have 20,000 books in your TBR, how in the world do you decide what to read next?Usually I have somewhat of an idea of what I want to read next. Usually it's the first book that my eyes land on in my TBR shelves because I have been having either an unconscious or a conscious desire to book up that book next(: Check out more of my strategies on deciding what to read next in my old blog post here.

2. You're halfway through a book and you're just not loving it. Do you put it down or are you committed? Usually I'll put it down with the thought that I'm going to pick it back up later after I read another book, but most of the time I don't pick it back up and end up starting it again much later or letting it waste away on my TBR shelf.

3. The end of the year is coming and you're behind on your reading challenge, do you try to catch up? And if so, how?It depends how behind I am on my reading challenge. Most of the time I'll start reading a little more but I won't go crazy with it. Sure, it would be nice to complete my reading challenge but it's not the biggest deal in the world.

4. The covers of a series you love do not match, how do you cope?It would be nice if they matched but I won't go buy new ones, I could be spending that money on new books(:

5. Everyone and their mother loves a book that you do not. Who do you bond with over your shared feelings?I'll usually go through Goodreads reviews until I find someone who had the same viewpoint as me and then comment something enthusiastic.

6. You're reading a book in public and you're about to start crying. How do you deal? I'll try my best not to cry but sometimes you can't help it you know? I'll just keep it quiet and wipe away the tears quickly. One particularly ugly instance of this occurred on a bus ride to New York City when Winger by Andrew Smith crushed my soul.

7. The sequel to a book you love just came out but you've forgotten a lot of what happens. Are you going to reread it? Yes. I'll just look over the plot on wikipedia or something to get a refresher.

8. You do not what anyone to borrow your books, how do you politely say no when someone asks? I'll simply tell them that I don't let people borrow my books because I'm a little too overprotective. Most of the time if it's a friend that asks I'll let them borrow it but threaten them thoroughly to make sure they take care of it (and tell them if there is any damage they're buying me a new one).

9. You have picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over this reading slump?Most of the time I'll go through a Netflix phase until I get bored with shows and/or feel a craving to read. Either that or I'll reread a book that I really loved.

10. There are so many books coming out that you are dying to read, how many do you end up buying? Usually I'll hold off on buying it unless it's an author I really love or another installment in a series I'm reading.

11. After you purchase all of these books that you're dying to read how long do they sit on your shelves before you get to them? Well, that varies extremely. If it's a Sarah J. Maas book I'm gonna read it immediately, but on others it could be left for years (whoops).

If any of you want to do this challenge feel free! I hope you get a lot of reading done and make sure to watch out for my review on The Great Gatsby, which I finished a few days ago.​

- Paige J. xx

Sooo I may or may not have spent the last hour and a half scouring a million book blogs for the perfect tag to do for you today (while watching Parks and Rec of course). And finally, after watching Ron Swanson complain about the government a hundred times I found this little gem way down in the depths of mylittlebookblog.com. So without further ado... let's get to answering these questions.

1. Would you rather.. Drop your favorite book into the toilet OR watch it fall into a wood chipper?Both would be devastating, but I think having my book getting water damage would do a lot less harm to my soul than watching it get chopped into a million pieces before my eyes. Plus, blow drying a book would take less time than taping a book back together piece by piece.

2. Would you rather... Read only one book a year but remember everything OR read one hundred books a year but remember nothing?I would not be able to survive if I only got to read one book a year, unless someone put all the books in the world together into one book? Since, to my knowledge, such a book does not exist, I'll have to go with the hundred books a year.

3. Would you rather... Read only the first page of a book OR read only the last page of a book? Oh my, this is a tough question. But, I think I'll go with the last page of a book because then I can come up with my own story that led up to the ending. Although, I suppose I could do that with the first page of a book as well....

4. Would you rather get locked in a library OR get locked in a bookstore? BOOKSTORE BOOKSTORE BOOKSTORE. I LOVE new books and I would explore and explore and read and read and read some more. Plus, if they accidentally locked me in the store I might be able to sue them for the money to buy all the books I found...

5. Would you rater.... Drop your book in a lake OR accidentally set it on fire? AGH. WHY? But lake. Because again, you can come back from water damage.

6. Would you rather... Read a book with a cliffhanger ending OR read a book with a heartbreaking ending? Humph, this is a thinker. I'm going to go with cliffhanger and just hope for a sequel. Plus, I become attached to my characters and wouldn't want to have to go through grief therapy if I lost one of them during said "heartbreaking ending."

7. Would you rather... Have the book's ending spoiled OR never know what happens? I hate being spoiled but I think I'm going to have to go with that one because I would be forever in peril wondering what would've occurred.

8. Would you rather... read only one genre forever OR never repeat the same genre after reading it once? One book for each genre? I'm bound to run out of genres at one point and I'm not about to live without my fantasy. So, one genre forever.

9. Would you rather... Read a book where the main character is killed off OR read a book where the love interest is killed off? Can I go with neither? No? Oh my. I think I'm going to have to go with main character because I don't want to read about their lives without each other. Plus, there is no way that I'm going to let Rowan die.

10. Would you rather... Read a book that's missing the middle chapter OR read a book that's missing the first and last chapters? Middle chapter. I'll read the first and last and come up with what I thought came in the middle.

11. Would you rather... Love a book everyone hates OR hate a book everyone loves?Honestly I don't really care either way. But I think I'll go with love a book everyone hates because then the characters are all miiiiiiiine. MUWHAHAHAHAHA.

12. Would you rather... Loan a book to a friend who's known to ruin books OR drop a book in a pit of snakes? I'll loan the book to my friend and threaten them enough so that they will be forced to treat the book like a princess.

13. Would you rather... Be stuck on a deserted island without a book OR be stuck in a library full of books in a language you can't read? Do you really think I'm about to go on a freaking island with no books? Put me in the library. I'll learn the language.

14. Would you rather... Bring only one book on a twelve hour flight OR bring an e-reader with only 10% left on a four hour flight? Having my electronics on low battery is something that really stresses me out, so I'll just bring a really long book on a twelve hour flight.

15. Would you rather... Find out your best friend hates your favorite book OR share a favorite book with your worst enemy?Umm I don't want my worst enemy to love my characters. So I'll go with the best friend hating my favorite book.

Alrighty, that book tag was actually pretty fun to do, although some of the questions were a little tough. Did you disagree with any of my decisions? Let's debate in the comments (; . See you tomorrow for We Need to Talk Wednesday!!!!

- Paige Jones xx

So here I was on this beautiful Friday afternoon, trying to find something to write about for my first Free Write Friday. Shall I write a short story? A poem? A possible interaction between two characters from different series? I found my answer on mylittlebookblog.com ... the book blogger test(: So without further ado, let the test begin.

What are your top three book pet hates? 1. When there are too many POVs the author switches between (especially when the author favors a point of view I don't particularly enjoy). 2. Chapters that are too long, one after another. I need good stopping places so I can update my progress on goodreads!!!3. When authors arrange dialogue in a confusing way, making it hard to tell who is saying what.

Describe your perfect Reading Spot I can make any spot a reading spot, but my ideal reading spot is at my grandparents' lake house. Lying on the large white rope hammock, lulling back and forth underneath the twin trees with sunlight trickling through the brilliant green leaves. And, of course, the waves lapping against the rocks that line their property.

Three Book Confessions 1. Out of all of Rick Riordan's books, I've only read the first of the Percy Jackson series. Please don't hurt me. 2. I buy entire book series without even reading the first one yet, based on amazing reviews on BookTube and Goodreads. 3. I fall in love with male characters very, very, quickly. I'm pretty sure I was infatuated with Rowan within the first three scenes he appeared in in Heir of Fire.

When was the Last Time You Cried During a Book?

In the past week, I have been binge reading the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas (I'm currently on the fourth, Queen of Shadows, in case you were wondering), and I believe the last time I cried in this series was during Crown of Midnight.

How Many Books are on your Bedside Table?Two. Queen of Shadows (of course (; ), and a riveting read on the American Colonies (can you tell I like history?).

What is your Favorite Snack to Eat while Reading?​I find it hard to eat and read at the same time, as I get distracted by the food and end up losing my place on the page I'm reading. But I do like drinking coffee while reading (black with two sugars please).

Name Three Books you Would Recommend to Everyone1. The entire Harry Potter series, obviously. And yes, there are people who have not read it yet (muggles these days, am I right?).2. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, so intricate, so mysterious. 3. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, so many genres in one beautifully wrapped book.

Show us a Picture of your Favorite Bookshelf on your BookcaseHow about I just post a picture of my whole bookshelf later today?

Write How Much Books Mean to you in just Three WordsMy whole life.

What is your Biggest Reading Secret?I used to hate Harry Potter and was afraid of it (these were my dark ages). This was a time before I read the books, when the movies were coming out, and I took one look at the Chamber of Secrets on the TV in my family room, saw gigantic spiders and wrote Harry Potter off until I fell in love with the books several years later.

I hope you enjoyed reading the first post of this wonderful summer month(: I'll be uploading a currently reading update and some other posts over the weekend so stay tuned. See you back on Monday for the first Maybe you'll like... Monday!